Virginia Rewrites Record Books

Virginia’s harvest of 240,000 whitetails last year not only represented a 7 percent
jump over the 2006 season.“This was clearly our highest recorded harvest,” said Nelson Lafon, deer project coordinator
for the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF), in The News & Advance.
In fact, the 2007 take was 13 percent above the annual median total for the past decade!

As The News & Advance noted, DGIF has made a concerted effort to push up the doe
harvest in recent years, liberalizing seasons and available tags. “Doe kills
also outnumbered those of antlered bucks for the first time since the check system
started, Lafon said. There were roughly 500 more killed this past year.”

DGIF has also targeted urban deer populations.

“[C]onflicts with deer in urban areas have risen in recent years, Lafon said. They
come to these spots to find sanctuary, he said. Since 2003, he said nearly 20
cities and towns, including Lynchburg, have taken part in an archery program that
allows hunters to target them in urban areas without violating laws that prohibit
firearms. Bow kills climbed 1 percent this past season and crossbow kills, which
became legal for all deer hunters three years ago, increased 21 percent.”

One thought on “Virginia Rewrites Record Books”

I just moved to southern VA from PA and this news is great, and is borne out by the numerous sightings in and aound my community – day and night. The fact that there is a signifcant overpopulation is evident by the small stature of the deer and the constant complaining by the neighbors about the deer &quot;problem&quot; – eating their schrubs and plants.

The game managers in this area can rest assured I will do my part to reduce the doe population. :&gt;)Posted by: Ray Braun